


Adviser

by softiekage (orphan_account)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Astraphobia, Cuddles, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Jealousy, Kissing, Mild Rock Lee/Reader, Mutual Pining, Romance, Thunderstorms, Very mild hurt/comfort, lee actually gives good advice, so does sakura tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:20:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27013384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/softiekage
Summary: During a thunderstorm, Lee gives surprisingly good advice on how to get your longtime crush, Naruto, to confess his feelings for you.
Relationships: Uzumaki Naruto & Reader, Uzumaki Naruto/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 67





	Adviser

The wind howled and whistled with rage outside as every ninja group in Konohagakure stood inside of Lady Tsunade's office. You could tell by the way the wind screamed like a human, the way the dark, coppery clouds rolled in and rumbled with thunder, and by the way the fat raindrops pelted against the roof of the Hokage Residence like rocks rather than water, that a thunderstorm was coming this way. _A big one._

Lady Tsunade seemed tired as she shoved aside a mountain of paperwork, focusing her penetrating gaze on the shinobis in front of her. "As you can probably see, a thunderstorm is rolling in, and, by the looks of it, this could be the largest thunderstorm Konoha has ever seen."

Every word she spoke felt like it was causing you actual harm. Whenever you heard the word _thunderstorm_ , it made your knees go weak, your head spin, and your heart rate to increase rapidly, much like a certain blond shinobi made you feel. Not that he even noticed you, of course. I mean, you two had been on the same team for years, and he never did anything even _remotely_ romantic. You sighed softly before fixating your (e/c) orbs on Naruto, who, surprisingly, was already watching you. Once you had met his eyes, he blushed slightly before smiling faintly. Being the polite person you were, you smiled back. The jinchūriki's blush deepened before turning back to pay close attention, and you did the same.

"Your mission," Lady Tsunade continued. "Is to make sure that every building and resident is protected from this storm. Five of you will put up five 'forbidden' tags around the gates of Konoha to ensure that we are safe from this force of nature, and the rest of you will alert the residents of our plan. (Y/N), Naruto, Shikamaru, Lee, Sakura," The group of you stepped forward, Shikamaru a tad sluggishly. "Take these seals. I trust you know how to do the rest?" You all nodded as she handed you the seals. 

"Man, what a drag..." you heard Shikamaru mutter as he trudged out of the room. 

_Amen, brother,_ you sighed to yourself mentally as your jelly legs wobbled out of the room, seemingly leaving your stomach in Tsunade's office. Everyone knew of your deathly fear of thunderstorms, and almost everyone made fun of you for it, except for Rock Lee and Naruto. You and Lee had been friends for what seemed like forever, and he immediately put a stop to the teasing.

Speaking of Lee, you felt his familiar bandaged hand give your shoulders a light squeeze as the five of you exited the office and made your way back to the entrance, the wind causing the Residence to creak and moan. 

"Will you be alright, (Y/N)?" Lee inquired, concern saturating his voice.

"O-Of course I will. I am a shinobi after all, and shinobis face their fears." Your voice sounded much more confident than you actually felt. You could tell that Lee wasn't buying into your feigned courageousness but he left you alone anyways, walking alongside you as you all continued to make your way to the center of the village, your legs growing weaker and weaker with every step you took. Your instincts were screaming at you to stop, but you continued your trek anyways. You'd do anything for the village, even face your worst nightmare. Besides, Lee's cozy presence beside you made you feel somewhat safer.

Behind the two of you, Naruto and Sakura walked side-by-side, Sakura staring absentmindedly out of passing windows, whereas Naruto glared angrily at the back of Lee's glossy hair. He didn't understand the sudden tsunami of territorial feelings he had for you, and the sudden urge to get you as far away from the bushy-browed ninja as soon as possible. He most definitely didn't understand the surge of anger he felt towards Lee, one of his closest companions. Regardless, he glowered at the Taijutsu expert, willing to trade anything in a heartbeat to have the kind of relationship you and Lee had.

"Careful, Naruto, or you just might burn a hole in Lee's back," Sakura teased, grinning at the way Naruto instantly flushed at getting caught. "Why don't you just ask her out or something?"

Naruto looked down as he twiddled his fingers, his blush worsening. "I...I'm...afraid. What if she doesn't like me back? We have a good friendship and I don't wanna risk it."

Sakura couldn't help the punch that landed on Naruto's shoulder; it was a habit. Naruto, who was pretty much used to it, simply rubbed his shoulder with a wince. "Are you serious? How can you live with that? If I were you, I would take that risk because there's also a chance that she'll accept. It's better to take that chance than to look back ten to twenty years from now and regret what could've been."

The shinobi took this new information into consideration, the words sinking in deeper and deeper. He stole another glance at the pair in front of him, the barely-contained jealousy bubbling to the surface once more. With newfound determination, he found himself nodding at Sakura's words, earning a smile from the pinkette. This was one of the few times he had actually taken her advice! She truly hoped that it would end in his favor. Although Naruto truly was a knucklehead, she had grown fond of his 24/7 eccentric energy.

After what seemed like ages, the group finally emerged from the Hokage Residence, greeted with screaming 60 miles-per-hour winds, ice-cold rain that felt much more like hail, and earth-shattering claps of thunder. Your weak legs finally gave way as you collapsed onto the muddy ground, dirt staining your clothes. A strange buzzing noise filled your ears as spots of black began blossoming in your vision. 

"What happened?"

"Is she alright?"

A flurry of panicked voices emerged around you, yet you paid no mind to them. A sort of numbness washed over your body as you became less and less conscious. Of course, Naruto rushed forward to do whatever he could to help you, but Lee had beaten him to the punch, getting down on his knees to snap you out of whatever trance you were currently in. Under normal circumstances he would never do this, but Lee grabbed you by the shoulders and shook you vigorously until you finally opened your bleary eyes.

"I...Lee, what happened?" you murmured, rubbing your head as you cautiously sat up. 

"You passed out. It seems that your fear of thunderstorms is not as mild as you thought. Would you like me to request that Lady Tsunade hand your task to someone else?" Lee replied, his voice much like a mother to their child. Naruto definitely didn't see it that way.

You instantly blushed, furious that you had let this silly little fear get in the way of your mission. "No! I will fulfill my mission, no matter what obstacles get in my way." Once again, your voice sounded much more braver than you felt as another distant clap of thunder was heard. 

Lee gave you a sort of disapproving look, but nodded nonetheless, wrapping a bandaged arm around your waist to help you walk despite your objections. 

"Are we done wasting time? I'd like to get this over with," Shikamaru called over his shoulder, already way ahead of the group. You all rushed to catch up to him before falling back into your previous positions, Naruto going back to glowering at the back of Lee's figure, a teeny part of his brain hoping that a hole would burn where he glared. Your group all walked much faster this time, eager to get out of the buckets of water being poured from the sky.

As you all jumped from roof to roof and tree to tree, you noticed that the bushy-browed shinobi beside you was deep in thought, his shimmering black eyes unfocused.

"Whatcha thinking about?" you asked, your voice hardly audible over the screeching winds. Every boom of thunder instantly made you nauseous and caused your blood to run cold, but every minute you spent out there made it a tiny bit easier.

He glanced at you before going back to thinking about whatever Lee was thinking. After a couple of seconds, he turned to face you once again. "I am no Shikamaru, but I believe I have found a way to persuade friend Naruto to confess his feelings for you."

Your best friend's blunt words made you trip over your own feet. Luckily, Lee's arm around your waist steadied you before you could faceplant onto the wet earth below. 

"W-What? How?" you stammered, blood rushing to color your cheeks.

The green shinobi motioned subtly with his head towards Naruto. "Do you see the way that friend Naruto is staring at me?"

A bit conspicuously, you turned around to see for yourself. The jinchūriki truly was staring at Lee in a way that was most definitely not friendly. He seemed... _angry_...about something. His usually cheerful expression had shifted, his eyebrows furrowing over hostile eyes, his cheeks puffed up in annoyance.

You turned to look in front of you before you tripped over something again. "Yeah, but why does he seem irritated?"

Lee smiled his signature smile at your naïveté. "He is jealous."

_That_ was a shocker. You stared up at Lee, wide-eyed. "J-Jealous?" you sputtered. "Jealous about _what?"_

"Friend Naruto seems angered about the proximity between you and I. I believe he wishes that he were this close as I am to you," he simplified.

That was _also_ a shocker. The warmth enveloped your entire body, offering some relief to the thick, freezing raindrops. For once, you were truly at a loss for words. "I—s-so, uh, w-what's you plan?"

He simply shrugged, the two of you slowing down as you all approached the center of town. "My plan is to merely make friend Naruto's jealousy increase to the point where he cannot take it anymore. From what I have heard, jealousy causes you to execute rash decisions."

To be completely honest, you were surprised at how well-thought-out Lee's plan was. It didn't sound like a bad one, but you still weren't certain that it would work.

"Alright, here's how this goes," Shikamaru began, nearly shouting over the pouring rain. "Naruto, Sakura, you'll place two 'forbidden' tags on the east side of the gates. Lee, (Y/N), you two will place two 'forbidden' tags on the west side of the gates. Once you two are done, meet me at the gate's entrance, where I'll put the last tag. Everyone got that?"

You all nodded, but as you were beginning to disperse, Lee slung an arm around your shoulders. Assuming it was part of his plan, you rolled along. Astonishingly, his actions were not in vain, as you heard Naruto clear his throat awkwardly from behind the two of you.

"Er, uh, Lee, if it isn't any trouble, would you mind switching positions? I don't want you to stress yourself, and I'm more than capable of making sure (Y/N) is okay." Naruto smiled politely, but it did not reach his eyes.

Lee, pretending to be oblivious, nodded eagerly. "What a noble and loving exhibition of friendship! Friend Naruto, you truly are kind!" he exclaimed, pumping a bandaged fist in the air. "I shall entrust you with the duty of watching over dear (Y/N)!"

Careful not to slip, Lee jogged his way over to Sakura as you and Naruto hopped from building to building in companionable, slightly awkward silence.

"So, you and Lee, huh?" Naruto smiled again, a bit too forced.

For what seemed like the thousandth time today, you blushed. "Nothing's going on, Naru. Lee and I are just friends."

The blond shinobi eyed you skeptically, but he didn't press any further. The topic hurt him deeper than he let on. Within a couple of minutes, the pair of you had reached Konoha's western gates. You and Naruto parted ways to place the tags on the corners of the gate. As soon as you reached your destination, you carefully pressed your 'forbidden' tag onto the gate, before making your way back to the middle, where Naruto was waiting patiently.

Unthinking, you reached for his hand, grasping it firmly in yours before running back towards the center. He squeaked in surprise, blushing furiously, but didn't pull away. This was something he had been itching to do for a while, and it felt oh-so-satisfying to finally scratch that itch. It wasn't until after a solid three minutes that you finally felt the warmth radiating from his hand, and you began to internally panic.

_Holy crap, you were actually holding his hand..._

It took a good chunk of your strength to not start wheezing right there, and, after a bit, you got used to it. I mean, how could you _not_ get used to it? This was something you couldn't get tired of. You didn't want to let go once you two had reached Konoha's entrance where Shikamaru, Sakura and Lee were waiting, and neither did Naruto, but Lee had some sort of plan in mind, as he rushed forward to embrace you tightly, once again like an anxious mother to her child, and once again, Naruto didn't see it that way.

"Ah, dearest (Y/N)! I have been awaiting your arrival! You have my thanks for returning her unscathed, friend Naruto!" Lee gushed, nearly suffocating you.

"It was my pleasure, Lee," Naruto responded, his tone slightly icy.

Shikamaru cleared his throat to attract attention. "Are we all ready?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good, because I wasn't planning on waiting anyway." Without another word, Shikamaru pressed the final 'forbidden' tag onto the closed entrance gate of Konoha. Almost instantly, the tag began to glow before a sort of transparent-blue dome rose from each of the tags before meeting in the center, shielding the village from the raging storm. As soon as it met in the center, the dome faded out of sight, but you knew it was still there. An audible sigh of relief could be heard amongst the group, but you could still hear the growls of thunder just outside of the dome, your body going slightly limp.

Seeing your expression, Lee had another idea. "(Y/N), would you like me to accompany you? I suggest that we may wait out this storm together in your apartment, if you do not mind."

Naruto visibly tensed in your peripheral vision. "Lee, that sounds like a wonderful idea—!"

"Actually," the blond shinobi interrupted, appearing beside you out of nowhere. "I think I should go with (Y/N). Again, Lee, I don't want you to stretch yourself thin or apply unnecessary tasks to your agenda. I can take care of it."

"Ah, Naru, you don't have to do that..." you mumbled, flushing lightly.

"I don't mind, honestly, (Y/N). I'd do anything for you." Naruto didn't mean to say those last words out loud. It only took a second for you to figure out a deeper meaning, and your blush became much more apparent. The jinchūriki coughed, his face scarlet. "I—well—I mean—" he stammered. "B-Because we're such good buddies!" Naruto cringed internally at his words.

"Of course we are!" you replied quickly, waving your hands dismissively.

"You guys are so weird..." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as he passed by, assumingly off to go observe the storm or take a nap.

Seconds after extremely awkward silence and avoiding eye contact, Naruto spoke up. "So...I'll see you at your apartment later?"

"Y-Yeah! Yeah, definitely," you responded, trying to dial back the excitement. As soon as Naruto's back was turned, Lee gave you two thumbs-up and a wide, open-mouthed smile, to which you rolled your eyes to.

* * *

Aside from the earsplitting crashes of thunder, the freezing cold was the other thing you absolutely hated about storms. Nearly tripping over what looked like every blanket your apartment had to offer, you rushed forward to open your apartment's door where someone had knocked. You wrenched open the door to see Naruto, his signature smile in place, holding up a plastic bag that bore the Ichiraku Ramen symbol. It didn't take a genius to guess what was inside of that bag.

"Hey!" he greeted boisterously, walking past you and placing the bag on top of a round dining table that was in the center of the apartment's kitchen. 

"O-Oh, hey," you replied, your teeth chattering as you toddled back to your spot on the gray couch, picking up your book and resuming where you left off. Naruto, however, remained standing, observing his new surroundings. Your apartment was a lot like you in a way. The furniture, décor, and overall color scheme reminded him a lot of you. Soft, kind.

He walked back towards the dining table and began rummaging through the bag, taking its contents out and displaying it for you to see. He took out two plastic bowls that assumably held ramen, chopsticks, and two glass soda bottles. He turned to give you a wide grin, vaguely reminding you of Lee. "I got us some food!"

With a slight huff of effort, you rose from the couch cushions, stumbling towards the dining table. "Gee, t-thanks. Y-You didn't-t have t-t-to do that, y-y'know." You struggled to keep your chattering under control, but it was futile.

"I know! I just wanted to make sure you had something to eat today," he responded cheerfully, pulling out a chair for you to sit on. You murmured a stuttering 'thank you' as you sat yourself down, wrapping yourself tightly in your blankets like a human burrito. You carefully removed the plastic lid from the bowl, steam escaping as soon as you removed the lid. The steam provided slim comfort from the cold, but it was still something.

Your hands trembled as you held your chopsticks, grumbling in frustration when the noodles would slip out from under them.

Unbeknownst to you, Naruto was watching you very closely, admiringly. He propped his head on his hands as he studied you closely. Your cheeks were rosy, a result from your blood trying to warm them up, but they were also puffed up in annoyance in such an appealing way that Naruto yearned to reach over and pinch them, just to see how squishy they were. Not only your cheeks were tinged pink, but your nose as well, reminding him of a cherry. Against his will, a snort escaped from him.

Immediately, you turned your glacial stare to the jinchūriki, who immediately covered his mouth to stifle his laughter. "W-What's so f-f-funny?" you chattered, trying and failing to make your tone more menacing.

Naruto cleared his throat and looked away, turning his attention to a few leaves fluttering in the wind. "Nothing, nothing."

However, as soon as you refocused yourself on your meal, Naruto went back to gazing at you, although more discreetly this time. A particularly violent shiver rocked your frame, causing your teeth to chatter much more loudly than before. 

"You okay?" he asked, mild worry in his tone.

"Y-Yeah, 'm f-f-fine." You shivered once again. 

As you swallowed the remains of your ramen, a light seemed to go off in the male shinobi's head. You looked at him, curious.

"What is it?"

Wordlessly, he rose from the chair before extending a burning hand out to you. "Come on, I have an idea on how to get you warmed up."

Curiosity melting into suspicion, you rested your hand in his, and he pulled you up as if you weighed no more than a feather, despite your extra load of blankets. "C'mon!" He guided you towards the living room, and stopped in front of a large gray couch. He motioned for you to hand him your blankets. Very reluctantly, you did so, the wintry air biting at your exposed skin instantly.

Naruto wrapped the blankets around himself before laying down on the couch, resting his head on the armrest. You opened your mouth to ask what he was doing, but before you could do so, he opened up the blankets with one of the biggest smiles you had ever seen, signifying for you to lay down on top of him.

A much more warm shade of red blossomed across your cheeks as you stared at the inviting blond shinobi. This was something that you had fantasized countless times, but now that this was actually happening, you were speechless. Awkwardly, you clambered on top of him. You were bit anxious that you were too heavy for Naruto, but he never gave any sign that you were.

You laid your head on his chest, the rapid sound of his heartbeat greeting your ears. As soon as you were in a comfortable position, Naruto closed the blankets around the two of you, providing some sort of wrap of heat. In just a few minutes you were already beginning to thaw out, your chattering becoming less and less frequent until they finally stopped. The same thing happened with Naruto's heartbeat. As time progressed, it slowed until it reached its regular pace.

"You didn't have to do all this," you murmured against his chest. Despite your best efforts, you were beginning to doze off, melting against his chest. The little space that you two occupied was beginning to catch on Naruto's scent. You didn't have any trouble identifying one of them as ramen, but he also smelled like sunshine, if sunshine had a scent. Toasty, familiar, _happy_. You couldn't quite put a name to it.

"I know, but I don't mind. Wouldn't want you getting hypothermic, would we?" he replied lightly, a hint of a smile in his voice.

A sigh escaped your lips as you buried your face in the crook of his neck, which was somehow much more snug than the rest of his body. Once again, his heartbeat thundered against you. "You're _way_ warmer than Lee." You didn't exactly mean for you to say those words, they just kind of...came out.

Naruto stiffened at the mention of Lee. "Huh. So you two have done this before?" His tone was slightly cold, and his question sounded more like a statement.

You craned your neck to look at him. "Well, I mean, yeah, b-but only when we need to preserve body heat and there's no other way." This was a lie, and you knew it. You and Lee had cuddled countless of times, all of those times being absolutely harmless. You also knew that Naruto knew this was a lie. "E-Even if we have done this before, Lee and I, we're just friends."

"Prove it."

"Huh?"

"Prove that you two are just friends."

You raised an eyebrow. "How?"

The blond shinobi was quiet for a few seconds. "Kiss me." His voice was no louder than a whisper as he gazed into your (e/c) eyes, slowly shifting into a sitting position. 

"I— _what?"_ You were definitely sure you misheard him. You misheard him, right? Because there is absolutely no way in the world that Naruto Uzumaki, _the_ Naruto Uzumaki, would want to kiss you. And yet here he was, tucking a stray lock of hear behind your ear as you sat up along with him.

"Kiss me," he repeated. His voice had more volume this time, more confidence.

You didn't dare meet his sky-blue orbs. Instead, you looked down into your lap, nervously twiddling your thumbs as your cheeks heated up. You nearly jumped out of your skin when you felt Naruto's burning hand under your chin in order to get you to look at him. His face was tinged a light shade of pink and his eyes were unusually softened, but otherwise, he seemed normal. I mean, as normal as Naruto can get. 

"Please?" he murmured, stroking his thumb across your cheek, shattering what little concentration you had left.

Your senses tingling, you nodded ever so slightly. You closed your eyes as you inhaled and exhaled deeply before quickly leaning in, placing a hasty, chaste kiss on a pillowy surface that you could only guess was Naruto's lips. As soon as you felt your lips connect with his, you jumped back, your face vaguely similar to a tomato. That little interaction was more than enough for you, but apparently, wasn't enough for Naruto. 

"T-That's it?" he questioned incredulously, his gaze turning pleading. He snatched up your hands and gently placed them on his face.

Oh no.

He was giving you _'the look.'_ That adorable, begging, wide-eyed, puppy-dog face. Who were you to say no to something so innocent, so gentle, yet hungry? You swallowed nervously before nodding once again, and almost instantly, the blond shinobi crushed his lips against yours, his hands letting go of yours to cradle your face, as if you were something delicate that could be broken easily.

Without really thinking, you kissed him back, placing your hands on the back of his neck. You couldn't actually believe this was happening, but it was. You know how they say that when you kiss your one true love, you hear wedding bells ringing, while others report feeling all sorts of butterflies fluttering around in your tummy? You had always thought that the people who believed in that were naïve, just talk.

It wasn't until now that you finally realized that they were telling the truth. Right in this perfect moment, you were experiencing every feeling there was possible; butterflies, wedding bells, fireworks, backflips, _everything_. Slowly, the two of you pulled away, staring into each other's faces. There seemed to be a new light shining in Naruto's adoring blue gaze.

"Wow," he breathed, chuckling softly. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

Your stare turned incredulous. "A-Are you serious? I've liked you since, like, forever!"

"Huh." The jinchūriki's tone was thoughtful as he laid back down, holding you closely in a way he would've never done when you two were just friends. "It seems like the only person who didn't know I liked you was _you_."

You rolled onto your stomach, pressing a short kiss to his lips. "And it looks like the only person who didn't know _I_ liked you was _you_."

Naruto smiled a softer version of his signature smile before shifting you into a more comfortable position, his breathing becoming increasingly slower until he let began to snore. The thunder had finally ceased, and all there was now was the comforting _pitter-patter_ of rain. Letting out a sigh, you turned to look out the window...

...to see Lee, who gave you two thumbs-up and a wide, open-mouthed smile.

_wait, what?_

**Author's Note:**

> why do i write so long....
> 
> anyways, i hope you enjoyed!


End file.
